Reading a Source Citation

Uncovering your source information for a source card can be a confusing task. Each
database provides the information, but they vary as to where it will be found in the
document. The most common place is at the end of the document in what is called
the Source Citation.

Gale/ OVRC
Gale Group typically presents the information this way. Below is a Gale Group
article from the Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center. Note the different elements
required on a source card from an On-line subscription database. Click on the
comment on the right and it will highlight the information you are looking for:
Source Citation: Steffen, Lloyd. "Executions Are Only Just If
They Meet Stringent Moral Conditions." At Issue: The Ethics of
Capital Punishment. Ed. Nick Fisanick. San Diego: Greenhaven
Press, 2004. Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center. Thomson
Gale. Ocean Township High School. 11 Dec. 2007
<http://find.galegroup.com/ovrc/infomark.do?&contentSet=GSRC
&type=retrieve&tabID=T010&prodId=OVRC&docId=EJ301031320
2&source=gale&srcprod=OVRC&userGroupName=oakh32455&v
ersion=1.0>.

If a group or person(s) name(s) do not appear before the article title, then there
is No Author.
Below is a different setup for source information from EBSCOhosts Points of View
database. Note the same items that are required for a source card from a
subscription database.

In the sample you are in EBSCOhosts Points of View database, as indicated
by the acronym pov that follows the .com/ of the URL. Therefore you can
stop after the pov.
The retrieval date is the date you first get the article.
EBSCOhost is the online service title.
Article Title
Author
Journal Title
Publish Date
Page #
Database Title
SIRS Researcher/ Pro-Con
SIRS source information is listed at the beginning and ends of articles. Be careful not to use the format
they list for MLA at the end of each article without checking the most current MLA handbook
requirements. Currency of requirements may not match!



















Teen Health and Wellness
Source information is listed at the bottom of the article. Note how Teen Health and
Wellness is the Journal title for the article and Rosenis Company credited as the
Database since it is the publisher of this on-line service.
Facts on File

This database looks much like Gales citations and are at the end of the articles.
Some slight variations of the listing order is evident however. See the sample
below:

In the URL, note the database indicator that shows you went to Facts on file,
the Science Online database:

http://www.fofweb.com/Science/default.asp?ItemID=WE40


In the Citation information, click on the comment on the right and it will
highlight the information you are looking for:

Citation Information
Record Citation: Barber, Nigel. "Endangered Species Act, 1973." Encyclopedia of Ethics
in Science and Technology. Facts On File, Inc., 2002. Science Online. Facts On File, Inc.
http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE40&SID=5&iPin=
ethics0133&SingleRecord=True (accessed December 12, 2007).
Web Page
A web page requires different source information. Use the Landmark site at
http://citationmachine.net and click on MLA and Web Page on Non-Print sources to
see what a source card requires. You will find that the bibliography entry will need
the Author, Page Title, Site Title, Publishing or Last Revision Date, Organization,
Date Accessed, and URL.


Page Title
Only give the URL when a reasonable web
search of the author and/ or title and topic
would not return the instructor to the site.
Organization Publishing or Last Revision Date
Site Title
Internet Journal or Magazine Article
Again, use the Landmark site at http://citationmachine.net and click on MLA and
Internet Journal or Magazine Article to see what a source card requires. You will
find that the bibliography entry will need the Author, Article Title, Publication
Title, Volume # (or Issue # or Identification #), Publication Date, Page Numbers,
Date Accessed, Article URL.

In this case, no page #s are given

Author
Article Title
Publication Date
Publication Title
Give entire URL
Blooms Literary Reference Center


Author Article Title
Title of
Publication
Title of Database
URL